大象传媒

During the war I lived in a council house on the St Hellers estate, which was an overflow from Bermondsey. I remember some men coming to our house to dig a big hole for the Anderson shelter- they might have been our neighbours. When the shelter first went up, there wasn't a proper floor and we all got wet feet. Soon after, a concrete floor was laid which helped.
Inside the shelter we had an oil lamp for light and bunk beds. My dad was away in the army so it was just me and mum at home. We went into the shelter during air raids, but I remember mum wasn't convinced that they would save us if we were bombed.
One night, it happened. Our house was in Wigmore street and just down the road, about 15- 16 houses were destroyed. Our house was affected too- the partition wall between my bedroom and mum's was destroyed. All our windows were shattered and I remember the front door being ending up in the hallway.
Another memory is when a doodlebug hit the power cables in Rose Hill Park. Instead of breaking them, it caused the bomb to bounce back into the park. This was fortunate as otherwise it would have hit some houses.
I remember the comradeship during the war. Anyone you met would give you a cup of tea and would stop for a chat.

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